2 Regt B Coy – who were they?

The section below contains the details of B company, second Regiment that fought in Delville Wood on 15 July 1916. All of these men were volunteers.

It should be noted that the classification “ Status “ below contains many entries stating “ survived “. These were men who survived combat in Delville Wood. Although a small number, miraculously survived until the armistice, most did not and fell in subsequent battles before the end of WW1. POB and POE stand for place of birth and enlistment respectively.

Although the 2nd Regt was termed “ the Natal and OFS “ regiment, the reality was that one company ( C Company ) was comprised mainly of volunteers from the eastern Cape & districts. It was known as the “ Border “ company as a result.

All of the OFS volunteers were placed in B Company. The official policy was to classify men according to their place of enlistment , not place of birth.

Some interesting trends emerge from the data of the 221 men of B company :

34% were not born in South Africa. The vast majority of these were born in the UK.

28 % were clerks before the war, and 18% were farmers. Professional men numbered less than 5%.

24% of B Company were employees of the South African Railways prior to WW1.

35% of B company men enlisted in Durban and 22 % enlisted in Bloemfontein ( Bloemfontein was the major rail scheduling centre for the country at the time ).

71% of B company men had had prior military experience ( Boer war, Zulu and Boer rebellions, and the campaign in South West Africa , excluding school cadets ).

Gen H T Lukin was concerned about Boer war veterans of dubious fitness, and requested that priority be given to young men under the age of 25, although Boer war veterans of high fitness levels would not be summarily excluded. Nearly all the men above the age of 34 were Boer war veterans.